Little Hearts
by SaySaeri
Summary: AU. It was as if they were telling him that it was okay to fall in love with his asshole boss. What he didn't know was Masamune was in love with him too.
1. Chapter 1

**AU where Ritsu and Masamune never met in high school... and instead at work! And there are these little hearts...  
**

 **lol I intended to post this on Valentines... oops. It's been like, 7 months give or take.  
**

* * *

Ritsu wasn't sure how much more he could take.

The hearts he stuffed in his coat pocket were beginning to stir, along with the ones in his work bag to be taken home. He was almost there to the station, almost...

"Oy, Onodera!" He froze, the voice of his heartache's source halting him from fleeing.

"W-what is it, Takano-san?" Ritsu begins cautiously, trying to keep his coat and work bag still. "I'm in a hurry, you see..."

"Liar. I heard you earlier. All you are going to do when you get home is sleep."

"PLEASE, LET ME SLEEP IN PEACE." Ritsu honestly didn't need this right now. He began walking fast now, realizing that time was being wasted. Knowing the chief editor was following him, he asks, "What is it that you need, Takano-san?"

"What are you doing this weekend?"

"This weekend?" Ritsu frowns. "Why do you ask? I think I'm just going to clean up a little, and catch up on my sleep."

"You don't have plans with anyone?"

"Is that any of your business, Takano-san?" They were in the train now, waiting to get to their stop. Luckily, they were separated due to the crowd. Sighing, Ritsu stares out the window, feeling safe. However, his hearts were still stirring.

He didn't know what to do with them. Days back he tried for the first time to fry and squish them, but they seemed to be indestructible. "..."

...He was in love with Takano-san.

Ritsu realized that months ago when he was to work in the Emerald Department.

The strangest thing was though that he had never felt attracted to other man before, so he wondered why... why Takano-san. A man who managed to bring Emerald back up in a new light in one year, who most likely works harder than anyone else and yet manages to look over everyone else's work... A man that will hit someone if he feels to, and goes from bickering with him to giving out stern, well-meaning advice. Ritsu puts a hand over his mouth, his heart aching.

His admiration had ended up turning into something more.

...

 _'Aahh...'_ Ritsu cringes, reluctantly walking closer to his apartment door. Masamune was waiting outside, arms crossed.

"How is it that we were in the same train, but you take this long to come out?" The older man eyes the bag of bought convenience store food in Ritsu's hands. "Have I not told you to try cooking for yourself instead of buying those?"

"And have I not told you that I don't have time?!" Ritsu retorts, getting out his key. The brunet didn't remember exactly when, but now the other man would always nag him about his health choices. While it touched him at times, he found that overall it was a little annoying. "Why do you care?"

"Cause you work for me, idiot. We would have problems if our workers get sick so much."

"I-I see. Well, I'll try harder okay? Goodnight, Takano-san." Quickly he got inside before anything else can be said to him.

 _'That's right...'_ Ritsu tosses his coat and work bag before heading to the kitchen. _'I'm just a worker to him.'_

 _'Just a worker...'_ It hurt so much, but it helped. Whatever he had for Masamune, he had to get over it. "..."

Or not. Feeling a nudge, he looked down at his feet to see another heart, bouncing happily when it saw that Ritsu was looking. "Geez," he goes to put it in his hands, and can't help but smile at it. "Where are you guys coming from?" Honestly, his place was almost clean now because he had to make space for them. They filled up his living room and blocking his way to his balcony slightly. Although, they did move for him when he wanted them to, so it was alright.

When he was with them, it eased him so, as if telling him that falling in love with the asshole boss was okay.

* * *

Love is hard.

Masamune peers up, staring from behind his glasses at the brunet working on his manuscript.

He's been love with Onodera for a long while now.

Working with him, watching over him as he furthers his career of being a shoujo manga editor... And then walking home, sometimes- most of the time- together... where they would occasionally talk and slips of book chatting and preferences would happen. They had more things in common than he thought.

Falling in love with him during the course of these past months felt so unusually natural. He never fell in love like this- it was so new. His earlier relationships never felt as serious as this. Normally, the closer they tried to get with him, the more colder he got towards them except Takafumi, who he had felt more friendship with despite all that they went through together.

Back to Ritsu, the brunet didn't seem to notice his advances. The thought of it had Masamune glaring at his papers, annoyed. Ritsu's blushes were already a sign that he might feel something towards him, but when it came to him actually attempting something he was brushed off. It didn't help that this was work; he had no time to properly woo the brunet when he has to get everyone working.

How was he supposed to attract Ritsu to him now? It did not help that his sort of foe Haitani seemed to be one of Ritsu's friends, and always poked at Ritsu about dating. It never escaped his hearing when he was close to them in the crowd. That bastard was totally doing this to get at him; He resisted the urge to rip his papers.

And that fiancee situation... he let out a frustrated sigh thinking of the girl who was cute and seemed more suited to be alongside Ritsu. Thank goodness Ritsu really considered her like a sister.

Feeling something poke his stomach, he looked to see one of his little hearts hopping on his lap. It seemed like it was trying to tell him- perhaps give him advice on what to do- but he couldn't understand it. He wish he did- he could use any form of help other than cliched shoujo material right now. He sighs.

Gazing back at Ritsu now, he wondered what the younger was thinking about. His lips were pursed, and his lids lowered and towards the side, almost shy. Maybe he was embarrassed about something?

Then it happened.

Their gazes meet. Eyes widen.

Blushing, Ritsu quickly averted his gaze, his hands finicky under his desk as he held a new tiny heart in place. Unknown to him, there was another one, shyly peering at Masamune from the top of his head.

 _'He...'_ Masamune couldn't believe it. _'He has one too... He has one too!'_

 _'For me?'_ Surprisingly, he suddenly felt aggressive for it _. 'It better be for me.'_ He will literally fight Haitani if those ended up being for him.

Suddenly he got up, accidentally slamming his hands on his desk. Surprised, everyone turned to look, wondering what had happened. To everyone else, the head editor's face looked determined and maybe a little bit... angry?

To his annoyance, Hatori had handed him a manuscript to check by him, and Ritsu chose that opportunity to flee to the bathroom. Then he had to go to a meeting while the brunet continued to hide; coming back hours later, Ritsu was long gone.

 _'Dammit...'_

...

Ritsu didn't know what to do anymore.

They multiplied- the hearts are now filling up his room. This could only mean his feelings for Masamune grew stronger right? He groans. "No..."

 _'What... what do I do now?!'_ Ritsu frantically wonders. He was hiding under the sheets, tucked safely in bed. Hunger didn't hit him, so he just planned on sleeping after coming home from work. _'I'll just eat a lot tomorrow.'_

That's right... tomorrow is Friday, the end of the current cycle. Finally, he'll be able to catch up on his sleep...

* * *

Well, this was odd. Masamune watched from outside his door as Ritsu came out in a rush. The brunet then shut his door quickly with a hard shut, as if he was escaping from something. "What's with you?"

"N-n-none of your business!" Ritsu sputters out, before heading into the elevator quickly.

"You still can't greet your boss in the morning?"

"G-good morning, Takano-san," the younger glares, before staring ahead, stubbornly quiet with a faint blush.

"So you still have no plans this weekend, right?"

"No, I do have plans."

"Sleeping and cleaning up doesn't count."

"Yes it does!" Ritsu ruffles up, annoyed. "Why this weekend anyway? You have Yokozawa-san right?" He and everyone else in the office knew the two were close. "Do something with him-" He was startled when two hands came down on his shoulders, and he was face to face with a serious Masamune.

"Yokozawa and I aren't together." Masamune says, feeling a little anxious that this was probably the reason why Ritsu didn't seem to be taking him seriously. Perhaps while he wasn't present whenever Haitani is with him, the man had been feeding Ritsu lies? It seemed just like Haitani to do that. "We're just friends. Just Friends."

"?" Ritsu blinks, confused. Well, this was sudden. He didn't think they were more than that.

"Okay, we used to date in college, and other things." The brunet's eyes widen, not knowing that. He just thought the two were very close. "But that's been long over. I could only see him as a friend. That's all we are."

"..." Ritsu blinks again, processing the information. "You dated Yokozawa-san?" Oh, wow... he couldn't really imagine them being all like a couple...

Masamune's voice echoed in his head, _"..And other things."_

...He couldn't imagine it. Nope. Just could not.

Now Masamune was confused about this, letting go of the others shoulders slowly. So Ritsu just said Yokozawa's name cause he was his only friend? He didn't feel that they were more?

Did... did Ritsu also think he was straight this whole time? The brunet seemed baffled that he and Yokozawa had dated.

He... He didn't just accidentally scare Ritsu from him, did he?

Ritsu, on the other hand, was thinking about something else. Slowly, the image of them together-together began to manifest. _'That...'_

 _'The image of... them...'_

 _'Augh... ugh, ugh!'_ Trying to will it away, Ritsu steps away from him and turns. The elevator opened now, and he gets off.

However, it was too late by then. His mind was fried. He blamed the Sapphire girls.

By the time he sat at his desk at work, Onodera Ritsu was gone... in spirit.

...

"Ricchan? Riii~chan!" Shouta waves his hand in front of Ritsu's face. With no response, Shouta turns to Mino and Hatori. "What do you think happened?"

"Well, it is the end of the cycle. He must be very focused now," Mino suggests, while Hatori simply nods and goes back to his own work.

"Are you sure?" Shouta looks back at Ritsu. "He doesn't seem focused." The short, dark-haired man was right. Instead of a determined, focused expression, the brunet looked like he was dead inside, and he was breathing through his mouth as if ill. "Ricchan?"

"..." Ritsu was trying so hard to feel nothing, think of nothing... to get that image out of his head...

"Oy! Get back to work!" Masamune passes by, hitting them on the head with a roll of sheets. Shouta rubs his head with a laugh before noticing that Ritsu was falling off his seat weakly, due to the hit. "R-Ricchan?! What's wrong?!" As he went forward to help him up, Masamune beat him to Ritsu quickly despite being the closest to him. "Takano-san..?"

"Onodera, what's wrong? Oy!" Masamune shakes the younger in his arms slightly, but received no response. In worry he put a hand on Ritsu's forehead, and while he was a little too warm for Masamune's liking, it was no fever.

"..." Hatori stares over from his desk thoughtfully, finding the situation familiar. "I think he hasn't eaten." Everyone looks over at him. "He most likely hasn't eaten well lately or at all."

"Ehhh..." Shouta glances around before spotting his small, packaged doriyaki at the edge of his desk. After opening it, he wafts the snack close to Ritsu's nose. "Ricchan, wake up wake up!"

"What the hell is happening here?!" They look up to see Takafumi, with crossed arms and his standard impatient expression. "What happened to Onodera?!"

"Nggnngh..." Ritsu comes to, the smell managing to wake him. However, the first thing he saw...

Was Takafumi. "Yokozawa...san..?" he whispers. His mind flashes back to earlier.

Oh no.

"Onodera, what do you think you're doing?" Takafumi glares, before he stopped, his brows furrowing. Onodera suddenly seemed nauseous. "Onodera? What's wrong?"

"Yokozawa-san..." Ritsu's eyes try to focus, and he becomes aware of who was holding him. "T-t... AAAAAahhhhhhh!" Ritsu tries to scramble away, but he got up too fast, knocking out when his head collided with the side of his desk. Everyone was speechless as Masamune secured him in his arms, again with his hand to the brunet's forehead.

"..." Everyone stares in worry before Hatori broke the silence. "I'll call in sick for him."

* * *

 _'It's too late, isn't it?'_ Masamune thought in disappointment, getting to their apartments with Ritsu on his back. _'He'll never consider me any more than this... He was practically freaking out and it was obviously because of what I told him...'_

 _'What do I do now?'_ He hasn't seen those little hearts since yesterday. _'Were they my imagination?'_ Since he could grab his keys easier then getting Ritsu's, Masamune took him into his apartment. Happily, his hearts greeted him, before jumping at the sight of Ritsu like happy little puppies.

Now, reaching his bedroom, he sets the younger down on his bed. He watched as they crowded around the brunet curiously; this was the first time all of them got close to the person of his affections- the person of their affections.

When one heart began nuzzling against Ritsu's cheek he smiled. He couldn't help but feel a little hopeful, and caressed the other cheek with his thumb, lighting up at the sensation. Ritsu was so soft... Oh...

He had dreams of it after falling for him, feeling over Ritsu's cheeks with his thumbs, and getting his mouth to open up and kiss ever so messily with their lips and tongue. How he craved to feel how their tongues would work together. Since Ritsu was obviously inexperienced, Masamune was more than happy to teach him...

* * *

 _'Hmm..?'_ When Ritsu woke, the aroma of something delicious hit him, and he can feel his stomach grumbling. _'I'm so hungry...'_ he opens his eyes, bleary. After his vision clears, he widens his eyes seeing Masamune, and he remembers that they were at work but no more. "T-takano-san..."

"Sit up."

"H-huh?" Strong hands help him sit up, and he was aware of the plate of food being set on his lap. "Takano-san?"

"Don't talk. Just eat," Masamune says, cutting into the omelet rice and waiting for Ritsu to accept it in his mouth.

"A-ah, I can do it by my-" Ritsu took the spoonful that was lightly forced into his mouth, eyes widening at the delicious taste. He chews happily before accepting another mouthful.

"Good?"

Ritsu nods, accepting another spoon of it. "Do you eat good like this everyday?"

"...?" Masamune frowns, confused; it was just omelet rice. "What the hell are you eating at your place?"

"U-uh... um..." He was fed another spoonful.

"Geez. You can't even cook for yourself... Since it's the weekend tomorrow, just stay here for the night. You can help me make dinner and learn." The thought struck him then... Ritsu in an apron..! Ritsu wearing one of his t-shirts..! Ritsu in his shower..!

"D-dinner?" Ritsu stutters. "What time is it?"

It's a little past lunch. Hatori went ahead and put you in for a sick day, and I just took the rest of the day off. Yoshikawa-sensei's manuscript came though, so they're just wrapping it up at work."

"Aah, I see. That's good..." Ritsu swallows, fidgeting his fingers on the blanket. The older resisted the urge to link those fingers with his own. "I'm sorry... for what happened earlier. I didn't mean to act like that."

"It's fine. You were pretty out of it." Masamune feeds him another. "Do you feel okay now?"

"Y-yes... thank you. Um..." Ritsu hesitates. "Why..." he pauses, "Why did you want me to do something with you on the weekend, Takano-san? Is it work related? Are we going to visit an author or something?"

"No. I just..." Now Masamune was hesitating, wondering how to answer honestly and not scare him away. _'I just want to spend time with you. No, he'll just think I'm playing with him like always... even if I did mean it.'_ He was literally so close to him now, and feeding him too. So damn close... and on the bed...

"..." The air had suddenly become still, stretched in the minutes as Masamune decided to stall for time and slowed his pace in feeding Ritsu. He wasn't about to give up this moment with Ritsu so quickly, as awkward as it was.

While the brunet didn't see them, the little hearts watched from the shadows of Masamune's room, setting an unintentional but ominous feel. What they didn't know was that Ritsu's hearts were on the other side of the wall, pressed and yearning to be on the other side.

* * *

 **TBC...**

 **The little hearts idea was spurred from this fan artwork for Once Upon a Time, I believe it was- with Belle and Rumpelstiltskin I think. The post I saw though, had no source for the one who drew it, nor signature. And haven't seen the artwork in a while, I can't find it augh...**

 **(**and also, you see some snippets from the manga..)  
**

 **But it was so very cute~  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**It felt odd typing this lol, I thought one way and then completely did another direction. I was going to drag this out but Takano was like no. It felt like that.  
**

* * *

The omelet rice dish is almost gone. Ritsu wondered what was going to happen after he was done. He admittedly wasn't entirely opposed to staying here for the night like Masamune said but... wasn't this weird? Ritsu wanted to tell himself Takano-san is like this with everyone but this was becoming a little too much; he couldn't imagine Masamune forcing Hatori to bed and feeding him.

"You can at least wash dishes right?"

Well, that snapped him out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"You'd think I was going to feed you and clean up after you too? You're cleaning this plate when you're done."

"O-oh ah, okay!" Ritsu nods frantically, before a thought hit him. Obviously the older didn't mean him actually staying over... right? Yes, he'll just clean up and thank Takano-san before leaving. He supposed that this should have relieved him but he couldn't help but feel maybe a little disappointed that he wouldn't be staying long...

 _'No, no!'_ Ritsu stubbornly denied, as he accepted another mouthful of omelet rice. _'Takano-san is just being nice in his own way. He wouldn't have feelings for me.'_

He recalled he was off for the rest of the day. _'Ah... maybe I should go to the library to change books? Haitani-san said I owe him dinner for that one day last week, maybe I should go wait for him? Saeki-san might want to come too...'_

"Mind telling me what you're thinking about?" He blinks out of his thoughts as Masamune addresses him.

"I... I think I'll go to the library later..." Ritsu mutters coherently through his chewing before swallowing. "After I do the dishes."

"What?" Masamune says, sounding annoyed. Ritsu looks at him questionably. "You're staying here for the rest of the day. You have an overdue book or something?"

"Hah?" Ritsu's brows furrow, confused by this turn of events. Why would his books be overdue? "I live next door- I don't need to stay for the night. I... and I do have a book from the library due today actually!" _'Right? Right?'_ He couldn't remember; all he knew was that he need to get the other book in the series he was reading.

"Then you're coming back here." It wasn't a wishful guess.

"No. I'm going home... maybe," Ritsu ponders for a moment. "I think I owe Haitani-san dinner."

"HAH?!" Ritsu flusters at the aggravated, questioning tone that came out of Masamune's mouth. "You owe him _dinner?_ "

"H-he offered me to go eat dinner with him last week... I was tired and he paid for me so now I..." He trails off in his line of conversation, intimidated by the look the older man was giving him.

"...You owe me too."

 _'H-h-huh?!'_ "E-excuse me?!"

"You owe me a meal too. And I want it tonight so don't even think about going off to see him. And since you suck at taking care of yourself... you're eating a meal with me once a day until I think you're healthy enough."

"HUUUH?!" Ritsu exclaims, distressed and annoyed at these turns of events. "Takano-san, I don't think you realize this but I can very much take care of myself, thank you very much."

"I bet you have only water and energy jelly packs in your refrigerator, which I told you many times not to depend on."

"I-I do not!" The brunet huffs, irritated. "I actually went shopping the other day, for your information."

"To buy more energy jelly-"

"NO I did not, Takano-san."

"Mind if I go see for myself?"

"YES. I do mind, Takano-san."

...

Oh god, he screwed up didn't he? From under his dark bangs, Masamune peered up at Ritsu's pout of a silent treatment. Of course the brunet would mind him going through his fridge. However, he couldn't think of anything else to get further involved with Ritsu. It may annoy the brunet now, but...

Resisting a sigh, he feeds Ritsu another spoonful. He was mindful of how little was left. He had to say something... "Onodera."

"...?" Ritsu reluctantly looks at him, and he couldn't help but feel his heart churn at how wary the younger was towards him. He can't help it if he doesn't know how to do relationships. He's trying as hard as he can for this, for what they can have together. Why doesn't the brunet see that?

 _'Then again, I probably did scare him away with what happened earlier...'_

"How do you feel about me?"

"..! W-wh-what do you mean by that?!" Masamune's eyes widened at that blushed face, before gasping at what happened next.

Seeing the look on the older man's face, he felt himself trembling before feeling the little pat on his head- a little heart making its appearance on the top of his brown locks. Immediately he moved to grab it and hide it away at his side, eyes shut.

However with no response, he peeked to see Takano-san still staring at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly opened. It was as if he was paralyzed. "...T-takano-san?" He then swallows, suddenly wanting to run far, far away. The brunet can feel small tears forming, his lips quivering. Takano-san understood what this meant, didn't he? The older man was more insightful than most people he has met.

Ritsu gasped as the little heart freed itself from his hand, failing to grab it as it hopped away on to the older man's lap. "U-uhhhhn..."

"Onodera..." Masamune whispers, breathing uneven. Oh, how his heart was beating so fast; swallowing, he stares at the little heart on his lap. It seemed to be looking up at him now and- Oh. Masamune felt his whole body stiffen.

Oh.

Ritsu reddens more as the little heart jumped up to kiss the older man's cheek. His mouth was open but nothing came out. He was mortified, hands trembling as he tried to reach out for it before remembering that there was a plate of cold omelet rice on his lap. As quickly as he could, he shakily moves to set the plate on Masamune's nightstand before moving his legs to hang off the bed.

He... he just had to leave. It was hard to escape when his whole body felt unsteady.

He didn't dare glance over at the other as he made his retreat. The only thing on his mind now was to escape.

The door. The brunet's breathing hitches as he felt the door handle, warmed by his hot, sweaty hands.

"..." Ritsu hesitates, an ominous feeling wracking through him; it was telling him to run and stay, contrasting. That's when he noticed the huge shadow looming over him.

When he turned to look, he was met with red and darkness, having become unconscious as Masamune's hearts jumped him. They jumped him so hard he knocked out upon colliding with the door.

A loud thud snapped Masamune out of his trance. Ritsu's little heart in his open hands, he turned quickly to see a huge mass of his hearts, eagerly roving about. "Onodera?!" He spotted the man's brown hair from inside the reddened crowd, eyes widening as the brunet's shirt was discarded out of it.

 _'Are... are they stripping him?!'_ Masamune gaped, before rushing, wondering what the hell his hearts were thinking- Oh.

Well, they were _his_ hearts. To be honest he'd probably try to strip Ritsu too at this point.

* * *

 **Ritsu, I'm so sorry.**

 **TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**(^o^)⋌⋚⊹** **  
**

* * *

Masamune couldn't stop staring. "..."

He's never seen Onodera shirtless before. It got him to think back to when he wasn't really all that interested in men. Well, he still doesn't really have a deep, particular interest in other men, or women for that matter; it was just sex. He really let it go back then in those dark years of his life.

Ritsu's thinness worried him somewhat, being able to see the slight curves of his ribs. However, seeing the small bump of his currently filled stomach got him chuckling, feeling happy to have got something in the brunet. Onodera needed more food and exercise in him. Don't get him started on his hips; the brunet's pants were low enough for his boxers to peek out, and Masamune felt as if he were being teased. He wanted to run his hands down his body.

He watches as one of his hearts nuzzles Ritsu's cheeks again, a smile curving up on his lips. Moving forward, he carefully put Ritsu's shirt back on him, an eyebrow raised as a few hearts worked together to move his shirt down. _'So that's how they took off his shirt... moving like that in sync.'_

Maybe he should be more considerate than this... after all, as of now the brunet probably also didn't want to wear his stuff for the night (though, that would have been so nice if he did). And so, he sought out Onodera's keys and left to get into the younger editor's apartment to get some of his clothes and necessities.

"Hm?" Ritsu's little heart stopped in front of him, shaking its body in a 'no'. "I'm just getting his stuff. No problem." He laughs a little at the little heart's protest, jumping on him as if it'd hurt.

 _'His apartment's probably very dirty or something.'_ Considering that it was Ritsu's little heart, that was probably the reason. He couldn't think of anything else the brunet would try to hide from him.

Once he was outside their apartments he turned the key in Onodera's apartment lock, frowning at the huge thud at the other end. Carefully, he tried to open, but was thwarted as he was sent to the ground on his back, eyes widening at the sight before him.

...

There were so many hearts.

All Masamune could do was stare, the little precious hearts piling up around him, spilling onto him from the confines of Ritsu's apartment. Slowly he sat up, wide eyed into the open apartment before him.

He couldn't see the floor. He couldn't even see past that- that's how many there were. _'Holy shit.'_

Unsteadily he gets up, mindful of the little hearts on his shoulder nuzzling his neck shyly. He made his way inside with surprisingly little trouble, the hearts moving for him happily. _'So... this is why it didn't want me to come in.'_ He took note of how unusually clean the apartment was. Probably to make room for the hearts; there were so much.

"..." Masamune was a smiling idiot was he wandered through the apartment, unbeknownst to the unconscious brunet in the other apartment. It almost seemed a little too out of character, but damn it he was so happy!

"Oy," he makes into Ritsu's room, looking around. "Where's his clothes?" A handful of clustering hearts move away for him to see the closet. "Thanks."

Even if they seemed to be in the right places, the clothes were wrinkled, stacked upon each other so sloppily. He'd definitely have to teach the younger how to fold clothes properly. "..." _'Hm...'_ Masamune glances around as he went to grab some clothes, noticing how less jumpy the hearts were. His own hearts practically jumped Ritsu, but...

"You know... I wouldn't mind it if you came closer..." _'Or jumped me... or even strip me...'_ They shook their heads, even the ones on his shoulder. Actually, they seemed somewhat satisfied already, watching him.

"Really, you can jump on me if you want," he goes to some of the hearts on the bed and pets them all gently. Some of them hop happily at this, before shying away and switching back to watching him.

Oh god, even like this the brunet was polite and distanced. He actually would like to be jumped.

* * *

"Mmm..? Takano-san?" Ritsu blinks, sitting up tiredly. His back ached a little, and immediately, he noticed Masamune's hearts watching him, shaking uncontrollably. They seemed like vibrating stress balls, reaching their limit.

"...H-hello." _'Why are they shaking?'_ Vaguely, he remembered that they jumped him. He blushes, realizing that maybe, just maybe, these hearts Masamune that has are for him? They weren't as much as his own hearts, but nonetheless Ritsu was happy beyond words. Takano-san has feelings for him... maybe.

Slowly, one of them hopped forward, almost stiff as it placed itself on Ritsu's lap, looking up at him. Smiling softly, Ritsu gently uses a finger to pet it before-

All Hell breaks loose.

"AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" From the other side, Masamune immediately turned before running back to his apartment, concerned.

"Onodera?!" Masamune calls out, rushing into his apartment and seeing no signs of his hearts. Seeing into his room now, he all but stopped, stupefied.

His hearts had somehow managed to squirm their way under the shirt a most certainly conscious Ritsu. Said brunet was blushing as he tries to push them back out while also trying to make sure they weren't trying to go into his pants. Ritsu holds back a moan as they rub against his nipples, embarrassed at his reactions-

He sees Masamune, who probably just got here. "Ta-takano-san! H-help!" The older just simply continued to stare. "T-t-takano-san..? A-aanngh... stop!" Ritsu tries harder to get them out, the motions on his nipples having become more persistent. "Takano-san!"

 _'Hot...'_ Masamune swallows, before pulling back to his standard, almost expressionless frown and helping Ritsu off of the bed. The hearts fell out of Ritsu's shirt, and Ritsu notices that for some reason they were shaking again, but making no move towards him. "You okay, Onodera?"

"Y-yes... thank you. Um..." He sees the clothes in Masamune's hands, and were given them.

"They're yours. Since you're staying here tonight, I thought you'd want your clothes. I also got your-"

"You w-went to my apartment?!"

"Yeah." Masamune looks straight at him. "It was actually clean."

"It's been clean for a long while now, actually!" Ritsu huffs, before blinking in confusion. Had his hearts hid from Takano-san? But there were so much of them so how..?

"Well, let's start making dinner. Considering you, we'll need more time than usual."

"I'm not that bad!" Actually... Ritsu glances around, brows furrowing. Where was that one little heart that was his? Did it go back with Takano to his apartment and stayed? "Do... do you know where my heart went?"

"Oh..." Masamune turns to go to the kitchen. "It probably went back to stay with the others."

"Ah okay-" Ritsu flusters, silent as he follows Masamune, heart thudding. _'So, that means he saw the hearts? Oh?'_ He watches the other's silent back in front of him, calming down. _'He's not going to talk about them? Well, I'm not really talking about his so... unless, did something happen to them? I should go see them.'_ "Takano-san, I'll be right back. I'm going to go get the book that's due."

"You know you're staying here the rest of the day right? Don't worry about it, I'll pay for the late fee."

"Ahh, I don't remember the end so... I want to re-read it if that's fine." He rushes towards the front door. "I'll be right back!"

"...Okay," Masamune watches him quietly before heading to the fridge, smiling a little. _'He never said he'll be back before... huh.'_ Masamune found he liked that a lot. When Ritsu didn't come back minutes later, he frowned and went to go see what was happening in the other apartment.

...

Inside his apartment, Ritsu found the hearts as they were, happily greeting him with little hops. "You guys okay?" He smiles down at them, now figuring that they probably hid in anywhere they could find when Masamune entered. It seemed legit.

Finding the book he needed, he frowns realizing that it was indeed due today. _'And he'll pay the late fee? Takano-san can be weird sometimes. It takes only how many minutes to the library and back.'_

*Ringing ringing* "Hm?" He brings out his cell phone from his pocket and answers. "Hello?"

[Onodera? This is Haitani~ How about dinner today?]

"Ah, I'm sorry, Haitani-san. I can't today, but I'll definitely buy you dinner later!"

[Nah, don't worry about it!" Haitani pauses. "Actually... tomorrow can you bring me takeout? I have to go back tomorrow to go over some things and I'll be working until late so if you don't mind bringing me dinner...]

"Oh okay! I'll be able to, Haitani-san. Is there anything you had in mind?"

[Any western meal from a diner should be fine. I've been eating too much ramen all this week, I need a break from that! Thanks Onodera-kun!]

"It's no problem, Haitani-san!" After they say their goodbyes he hangs up, feeling positive. He wouldn't owe Haitani again for a while.

"OH, it's no problem huh?" He was startled at the sound of Masamune's voice.

"W-when did you come?!"

"Just now." Masamune crosses his arms, "I wonder why you were taking so long so I decided to walk in. Now, what is no problem, Onodera?"

"Hah? I'm just bringing him dinner tomorrow- he has to work late."

"And that's it?"

"Of course! I'll just bring him it after I drop off my book. I don't see what's the big deal."

"I see... Then I'll just come along then." He takes the book out of Ritsu's other hand and walks out. "Since I'll be paying for the fee."

"H-hey wait! Geez..." Ritsu follows, pouting. Quickly, he notices all the hearts out and panics, looking at Masamune's broad back. _'He isn't fazed? Unless...'_ Ritsu looks away, saddening, _'He's... He's not...'_

His love wasn't even worth looking at...

...

Masamune didn't know what game Haitani was playing. Even if the guy did want to be Ritsu's friend, he was still sketchy. Especially knowing that Haitani knows that Ritsu works with him.

Slowing down, he took note at how still the hearts were. They seemed tilted downwards, as if they were contemplating something. Frowning, he moves to squat near one, reaching his hand out to one. Quickly it backed away, wary. Others did the same as he moved his hand around. Suddenly he glanced about at the rest of the hearts, backing even further away when they felt him looking. "Onodera?" He gets up, turning to look at the other.

Ritsu seemed to be staring off at nothing in particular, in deep thought. Getting a closer look, Masamune felt concern seeing how sad the younger looked, his green eyes clouded in a murkiness that he wanted to get rid of.

All of a sudden, he couldn't see that red anymore in his peripheral vision. He went into a full-out flurry of glancing wildly about the clean apartment, now eerily spotless. He can see now how clean Ritsu's apartment was.

Where did the hearts go?

"Onodera?" Masamune addresses him worriedly, moving to grab his arms to the brunet's side to shake him out of it when the latter didn't answer. "Onodera!"

Ritsu startles at the shaking, before growing flustered at the closeness. "Ta-takano-san? What's wrong?"

"You okay?" The older asks in concern, looking into his eyes; the murkiness seemed to have dwindled down and away, the negativity disappearing.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Ritsu says quietly, lips pursing as he regarded Masamune with a lost expression. He glances to his hearts for guidance, but they seemed to be rather unusually still and cautious. "Um..." He looks down at his feet before looking up at the older man, innocently questioning. "You... you can see my hearts, right?" Brown eyes widen just a bit in a small panic.

"...Y-yeah," Masamune answers eventually, smiling slightly, his expression somewhat sad and gentle as he lied. "I can see them."

"There... there are so many of them, huh?"

"Yeah." He answers sincerely. There were so many, he now wished he could drown in Ritsu's love.

 _'Oh.'_ Ritsu pauses for a second, thinking that Masamune was going to scoff and say 'So what?' after his yes, but... "You don't think... I don't have enough of them?"

"What?" Masamune's brows furrow, not really understanding what the brunet meant.

"Well, I mean..." Ritsu presses his lips together before continuing, sheepish. "Do you think... the person I love will like them?" The other held back a breath as his heart constricted in pain. Why the hell did love hurt so much?

However, it didn't stop him from smiling gently at the shorter man. "Idiot..." Ritsu blinks up at him in surprise. "...They'll love them a lot." Green eyes widen almost instantly, obviously surprised again with the response.

"O-oh, you... you think so?" Ritsu smiles sweetly, pink dusting his cheeks; he seemed relieved and positive once more, all murkiness gone. As Ritsu tried hard to ignore the aching to his chest despite feeling happy at the older's honest answer, Masamune swallowed down the urge to kiss him.

"You have more than enough." He flicks the younger's forehead affectionately, before turning to the door. He didn't want to come to the understanding that Ritsu's love was no longer for him. That's why the hearts were gone now for him, right? He decides to change the subject; if the brunet still didn't want to stay with him even now, he'll just have to use work to keep Ritsu close to him. "Come on, let's go make dinner."

"Okay," Ritsu follows willingly, before turning to some hearts. "Do any of you want to come?"

 _'What? Wait.'_ Masamune turns his head to him, watching him talk to empty space. _'Is... Are the hearts there?'_

 _'Is it me? I just can't see them? This means Ritsu could still have feelings for me right?'_

"? What's wrong, Takano-san?" Ritsu questions, before looking back at something and apparently watching it jump away. "Oh, no then?" He says to it.

...

Upon entering the apartment, Masamune watches as Ritsu approaches his hearts, all of them shaking like there was no tomorrow. Why could Ritsu still see his hearts?

"They shook like this earlier too." Ritsu looks back as at him worriedly. "Are they okay?"

"Ah yeah," Masamune answers, heading to the kitchen. Minutes ago, he came to understand why they were like that; like him, they were trying to restrain themselves.

Thinking back as he takes out some stuff to cut, he realizes that their restraint was weaker was his. Not to mention, they stripped Ritsu after, no restraint at all until he stopped them himself.

Could it be that somehow, they have a will of their own that was connected to them? Wait...

He looks to the brunet, who was poking one of his hearts repeatedly. While he unknowingly was testing its restraint, Masamune from the kitchen realized something else.

Ritsu wasn't complaining about being here with him.

He came back, willingly. Masamune felt as if a warm fire was set within him.

This meant so much to him, and his heart ached again, honestly happy. To the brunet's confusion, Masamune's hearts began shaking tremendously. He pets one hoping to soothe it.

Seconds later, he had to save Ritsu from his jumping hearts.

* * *

 **TBC**

 **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) My apologies for this chapter goes to Masamune.**

 **I'm so sorry, Masamune. For some reason I just had to angst some of it.** **⊹⋛⋋( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)⋌⋚⊹**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait! Classes are almost wrapped up, I have a cold, and I just feel like mostly sleeping. ^^''**

* * *

In front of the mirror of Masamune's bathroom, Ritsu washes his face to lessen his reddening after changing into his clothes that Masamune retrieved from him earlier. _'Dinner...'_

He was going to have dinner with Takano-san. Just the two of them eating, other than the hearts. Still though, he has never eaten alone with just Masamune before, other than when he was eating that omelet rice for lunch but that was just him eating... The brunet swallows before fixing his already fixed shirt and his standard hair style as of the present. He...

Really didn't look that all different from when he came into the bathroom. Ritsu sighs, wanting to leave the bathroom now yet he didn't want to. Helping make dinner felt completely different to actually eating dinner with him... like... like... _'A date...'_

Wait wait wait... Ritsu sighs once more, rationalizing. This wasn't a date, it couldn't be one. Their relationship was strictly work... well, strictly isn't the right word for it but- "Onodera?" A knock on the door. "You okay in there?"

"Y-yes, Takano-san! I'm fine. I'll just be out in a moment," Ritsu laughs nervously.

"...You don't have to be so nervous." Ritsu stiffens, before hearing the other man's footsteps leave to go back to the kitchen.

 _'Oh...'_ Ritsu swallows. _'So Takano-san noticed.'_ Really, nothing seemed to escape the older man's notice. Exhaling, Ritsu stares back at himself in the mirror before straightening up and opening the door.

...

Masamune was seriously concerned about how this guy lived day to day- his reactions to normal dinner plates are as if they were eating at a 5-star restaurant and cooked by the best chiefs. He himself was even surprised that they had managed to finish at all cause of the guy's clumsy bouts in the kitchen.

Then again, more than 50% of the time this guy most definitely eats convenience store food and takeout...

He didn't even know how to make rice. Rice! Masamune wondered how such a man managed to survive out on his own. How could Ritsu's mother have thought that it was okay to not teach Ritsu cooking skills?

Taken out of his thoughts, he realized Ritsu was rambling about something work-related, obviously trying to fill the silence. _'Oh.'_ "You don't have to force yourself to make conversation."

 _'He looks like he's thinking, "Oh."'_ For the most part, this guy was an open book. A cute open book.

An uncomfortable, but cute open book. This isn't what he wanted. He wanted Ritsu to be comfortable with him, to be able to tell him things without feeling like he has to. He didn't want to talk about work related stuff outside of work during a personal time like this. It was very clear to see that Ritsu thought this was dinner with his boss.

Well, it was but... "Don't..." He caught Ritsu's attention. "Don't think of this as dinner with a co-worker. Think of this as dinner with your neighbor." He pauses. "You don't have to talk about work."

"...B-but," Ritsu gazes down at his food, lost. "There... really isn't much to talk about other than work."

"That's not true," Masamune answers after a few seconds thought, "We can talk about ourselves."

"Ourselves?" Ritsu's brows furrow, not quite understanding.

"Well," Masamune says, playing with some rice with his chopsticks, "I'd like to know more about you."

"H-huh, me?" Ritsu flusters, not feeling willing to talk about himself. "I... I'm not really... there's no need to-"

"Why not?" Masamune questions, "We talk about ourselves sometimes when we walk home together. This isn't any different."

"..." Ritsu knew he was right.

"Even then though, it was as 'co-workers' huh?" Masamune says, thinking this through, "You were comfortable enough then, so what about now?"

"We never had dinner together so," Ritsu starts playing with his chopsticks as well, "It's... It's like..."

Masamune realizes. "Oh, it is like a date isn-"

"It's not a date." Ritsu blatantly denies, stiff.

"Now that I think about it, you get like that when..." Masamune figures, "You were thinking the same thing this whole time, weren't you-"

"No I wasn't."

"Ah, you totally were. It's okay to admit it you know," the older smiles on the inside, delighted with this development. "We really do have more in common than we thought." Ritsu blushes.

* * *

"So you can wash dishes."

"Of course!" Ritsu huffs, annoyed. "It's just that, at home I..." he pauses, and couldn't help but feel ashamed all of the sudden, "I wait until I use them all up so I can wash them all at the same time."

"..." Masamune gives him a look of disapproval. "No wonder your whole place used to look like complete garbage."

"It's easier that way!"

"No it isn't! Look," Masamune gestures to what they're cleaning now. "The sooner it's clean, the sooner you won't have much to clean after. Your apartment has been clean for a while now right? Have you noticed you have more free time since you've kept it clean?"

"...Well, yes." Ritsu reluctantly admits. "It's been easier."

"See? It's better this way," Masamune concedes, wiping a plate. After they finished that, Ritsu follows after Masamune as he goes into the living room to sit down. Anxious, Ritsu sits down next to him, the proximity setting him on edge. "Let's see... so tomorrow we go return that book of yours." He was totally going to omit the part for when Ritsu had to take Haitani take-out.

"Y-yes."

"After that, why don't we go to the bookstore after? Usami-sensei's new book has been out for a week and I've been wanting to buy it."

"O-oh, you too?" Ritsu says, "I wanted to buy it as well."

"Should we buy just one then?" Ritsu gives him a questioning look. "We both have a lot of books, so might as well just share one since we live next to each other. You can read it first and then lend it to me."

"Oh... Okay," Ritsu answers, contemplating after a while. "Don't we also have some of the same novels? You said you had that one book by Hinamori-sensei right?"

"Yeah." Masamune pauses in thought. "Want to see what I have? They're all near the TV."

...

And so, the two spent the rest of their night bonding over their respective book stashes. The next morning found them sleeping side by side on the carpet, surrounded by their books. The highlight of this morning was Masamune realizing Ritsu was nestled up against him, sleeping comfortably despite the fact they were on the floor.

This was the best by far. An arm over his side as Ritsu slept, Masamune feigned sleep and rested happily until the brunet woke, flustered and stammering over their predicament.

The only thing Masamune considered a downside to all this was the ridiculously stubborn bed hair that Ritsu's hair decided to sport for a few hours. Not even his hair gel was strong enough to tame that dreadful cowlick until he begged the younger to take a shower. He had to lock his own hearts in the closet so they would stop jumping the poor guy.

* * *

That wonderful weekend passed by like a breeze. Tired already on Monday, Masamune peers up through his clear lenses at the brunet talking to one of his mangakas on the phone. Today, Ritsu was wearing a rather teasing v-neck sweater. Sighing, Masamune looks down back at his phone, trying to go back into his work focus.

He hasn't seen any hearts other than his since. Still, he knew that Ritsu for sure has feelings for him, with or without hearts. However... He glances back up at the oblivious brunet.

Ritsu's hearts were a visible sign to him, a sign of reassurance of Ritsu's true feelings for him. Admittedly he missed them, but he knows he shouldn't let himself depend on them. Masamune couldn't help but feel that he did depend on them a little in that short period of time, because he knew this detestable feeling inside his chest... This lingering, throbbing intensity of his insecure feelings.

[What if Ritsu's love isn't truly meant for him?]

He couldn't stop overthinking things.

...

A little after noon time, Ritsu found himself washing his face for a second time for refreshing. He was feeling tired again, so water on his face was a good wake-up call. The little heart jumping on his head was a great help too. As he was wiping his face, he stiffened slightly at the sight of Takafumi coming in.

Slowly, he edged away to get more paper towels to distract himself.

Unbeknownst to the brunet, Takafumi did a double take as he washes his hands, staring into the mirror dumbfounded. There was a... heart(?) hopping on Onodera's head like it was nobody's business. The way the heart was shaped reminded him faintly of those stress balls. _'What... what is that?'_

Onodera didn't seem to notice it either. Could it be his imagination? Temporarily lost in his thoughts, he missed Ritsu slipping by him to escape.

* * *

It felt bad; back at Ritsu's desk now, the little heart hopped about to get to Masamune's desk.

Everyone didn't want the older man to see them anymore since that day. They didn't believe that he loved their person enough; Ritsu had felt so sad and crushed... This little heart understood though, that its person had probably mistaken Masamune's actions for something else. It could still feel Ritsu's clinging hope for his feelings to be reciprocated, even if the love returned wasn't as much as he gave.

This past weekend showed though that there was progress! The little heart was happy for that.

It watched as Masamune went through the current manuscript in front of him. If the heart could giggle and blush, it would; he was so focused and cool... Oh?

OH. OH NO. It backed away as one of Masamune's hearts popped out from the man's lap hidden under the desk- it had sensed him. It seemed to vibrate continuously as it came towards him, tremendously happy to see the other heart. Shy, it turned to hide in between two pink rabbit plush dolls situated a little ways from Masamune.

Infatuated, Masamune's little heart swooned at the others adorable shyness before shuffling after it. Ever since the little heart appeared before them the day their person brought Ritsu home for the first time, it wanted to be the heart to win the other one over. The rest of the hearts can go back into Masamune for all it cared.

Or... even better, the rest of the hearts at home can just go after Ritsu's other hearts.

Hohoho, then everyone will be happy.

It shuddered in excitement at the thought before rushing in too fast, startling Ritsu's heart from its hiding place. It watched in shock as the other retreated quickly back to Ritsu, no doubt frightened. Saddened and disappointed, Masamune's heart sagged before slowly hopping back to Masamune, who gave it a questioning look upon feeling that it was somehow upset.

 _'What happened to it?'_ He wondered, having been not able to see Ritsu's little heart.

Meanwhile, Ritsu's little heart peered out from behind Ritsu's shoulder, more smitten than frightened.

* * *

 **( ͡º ͜ ^) When senpai-heart thinks he frightened kouhai-heart, but kouhai-heart is just shy and prefers to adore from afar~  
**

 **It should be noted that these two hearts are a little different from the rest of the other hearts. Haven't you guys noticed that the other hearts prefer to stick together as collective group(s)?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy New Years! Hope y'all have a good one! ^u^ Though, it's a little after the 1st lol...  
**

 **Oh by the way, this is set in the middle of January, some months after Ritsu joined Emerald in August. So... more months to go til a full year of working at Emerald.**

* * *

It felt strange, being in this apartment on a Sunday; the brunet cast glances once or twice at the older next to him, reading. They have been both reading since noon in Masamune's apartment. Unlike the man beside him, Ritsu felt slightly nervous. _'He's sitting too close... but it would be rude to scoot away wouldn't it?'_

They were so close they were practically touching. He blushes.

This was beyond his expectations. He feels so happy right now... being this close to him... He could almost lean against him, and melt against his frame... Ack! No no... Ritsu gets his mind out of the gutter.

His little heart sat happily on his lap, swaying side to side as it buzzed warmly like a purring cat. One thing though... the little heart takes note of Masamune's heart on the man's shoulder, watching him intensely as it shook. It was kind of scary despite its coolness... the little heart snuggles up to Ritsu's front, out of sight.

...

Oh, how it wanted the other. Masamune's heart remained where it was when the other heart hid, knowing that eventually it was going to come out soon. It can't hide forever. The thought of the day they become one... heat rushes through it.

Startled, Ritsu watches as Masamune's heart suddenly bounds away from them, bouncing in random directions with high speed. To the brunet's amazement, the heart didn't break or move anything. It was just simply... bouncing.

"What do you think is wrong with it, Takano-san?" Ritsu asks, now noticing Masamune watching as well.

"...Who knows?" Masamune replies with thought, glancing to the oblivious other. "What do you think?" Ritsu gives him a questioning look. "Since it's my heart, how do you think I'm feeling inside?"

"How you are feeling... inside?" Ritsu repeats quietly, watching the wild heart continuing its bouncing. Seeing how it bounced with such energy, it must be happy? Excited? About what though? All they were doing is reading... Unless? Ritsu looks down at the book Masamune was reading. "Did something good happen in there?"

"Nope. Try again."

"..." Ritsu just didn't know. He leaned back on the couch. There was really nothing else to be so particularly excited about... "I don't know."

 _'Figures,'_ Thought Masamune, before putting away his book on the coffee table and taking off his reading glasses. After a few seconds of thinking, Masamune casually laid back against the couch, with an arm spread out behind Ritsu's shoulders. Immediately, he notices the reddening ears of the brunet. _'It's so obvious he has feelings for me.'_

 _[But why doesn't he see that I feel the same way?]_

Masamune wondered what to do next. At work, he also did some things too, but they didn't seem to work:

\- He made sure to touch their fingers whenever he handed Ritsu something.

\- He did little sneak attacks on his butt whenever he passed by.

\- He ruffled the brunet's hair once in a while (but not too much, should it attract unnecessary attention from other people).

\- He made sure Ritsu keeps to his promise (though he never actually made the brunet promise) of eating a meal a day with him. He wondered if the brunet realized that one meal a day was slowly turning into two meals a day...

Surely, he would realize by now, that no one in their right mind wouldn't actually make someone eat a meal with them a day unless they really, really, really, REALLY, cared. To be honest, at this point he just wants to pin the other down right now and kiss the hell out of him. Maybe then Ritsu would realize.

Unless... it just came to him now; what if Haitani told him something? Or no... at work too... like that one time where, they joked about him being a playboy type- well, at some point in his college years he sort of was but...

 _'This isn't good.'_ Masamune lays his head back, closing his tired eyes. This should be simple. However, with the way they were right now...

"Do you want some tea?" He opens his eyes to look at Ritsu's sheepish expression towards him. "If that's alright with you? I-I also want some tea..."

"Go ahead." Watching as Ritsu gets up to go into his kitchen, he felt somewhat happy that Ritsu is comfortable enough with him to be familiar with it. "I think I have different tea from the one you have." Quietly, he stands up and heads over.

...

"Ah yes, you do. Your tea tastes nice as well," Ritsu answers, turning on the heat on the stove after placing the tea kettle.

"What do you want to eat tonight?" The brunet startles at Masamune's voice suddenly behind him. "We can make something here, or we can eat out if you want."

"O-oh, um..." Ritsu blushes, trying to think. It felt as if they were roommates... or in a relationship... _'No no! It may be technically a date, but it doesn't mean we're in a relationship! We're just-'_

"OY!" He jolts, stiff as Masamune grabs his hands from behind, with his back to the older mans chest. "Are you paying attention?! Do you know where your hands were going? You want a burn?!"

"S-s-sorry!" Ritsu frantically apologizes, realizing his hands were unconsciously about to place themselves on the hot stove, as if he was going to lift the tea kettle from the bottom. "..."

"Idiot." The arms then wrap around him, bringing more flustered thoughts to his head. Ritsu swallows, before feeling Masamune's chin rest on his shoulders. "Being like this... kind of feels like we've just married, doesn't it?"

"..."

"...H-HAH?!" Ritsu shouts in surprise, his hand moving away from Masamune's to grab on something, which was the hot kettle. "YAwah!" His hand shoots away from contact, and he finds himself being dragged from behind to the sink.

"Idiot!" Masamune turns on the water to lukewarm to cool, before holding Ritsu's hand under with a firm grip. "Why aren't you paying attention?!"

"B-because you sa-said..!" Ritsu answers the best he could, his mind an unintelligible mess. Nothing was really making sense at the moment.

"We should probably bandage it just in case. You're lucky you tried to grab with your palm first. You'll still be able to use your fingers without much stress."

"T-that's not lucky at all!" Ritsu flusters, now being dragged to the couch to sit.

"I'll be right back." He didn't know where the older man was going within the apartment, but he stayed where he was, holding the wet towel to his burn. His little heart shuffles its way out from behind a pillow to get to his lap, tilting its body in curiosity to Ritsu's hand. To their surprise, Masamune's heart had seemed to have stopped bouncing, hopping to them with occasional trembles.

Ritsu hesitantly watches as the others little heart approached them, and made no objection as it came up to his lap where he was holding the towel to his hand. "H-hello..."

His hand was kissed most gently.

Well, not like actually kissing, but it bopped its body to his hurt hand, before nuzzling up to him. "..."

 _'That's so cute!'_ Ritsu gapes a little before swallowing and blushing at the token of affection. _'It...'_

 _\- "Since it's my heart, how do you think I'm feeling inside?" -_

"..." Ritsu stares down at the little heart, slowly coming to an understand of what Masamune had asked him. _'How he's feeling inside...? Towards me...?'_

"Here." He is forced out of his thoughts to see Masamune bringing a small box with medical supplies inside. "Keeping it in a bandage for a few days should be good. Give me your hand."

* * *

He felt a little useless on this stool, watching Masamune prepare and cook dinner with ease; they had decided to stay in. Dinner was decided by the fridge to be stir fry with green onion, pork, carrots, cabbage, and egg.

"Takano-san, are you sure I can't help?" Ritsu asks, feeling bad that he couldn't help much since the older man ordered him not to.

"You helped with the rice."

 _'All I did was turn the cooker on after you washed it and everything...'_ Wow, this man sure knew how to make him feel like crap without knowing. "..." However, looking down at his lap, he smiled down softly at Masamune's heart napping in his hands.

"..." _'It is napping, right?'_ It was on its back(?) and wasn't moving aside from it softly breathing(?). Ritsu tended to find some of his own hearts like this whenever he woke up in the middle of night to get water, so he assumed this was considered sleeping.

His own little heart was watching Masamune cook. "..?" He watches as Masamune grabs the soy sauce to his right next to his little heart, accidentally hitting it away. The little heart seemed to take the hit before looking up(?) at Masamune, who didn't apologize. "Takano-san?"

"Hmm? What?"

"You're not going to apologize?"

"For what?"

Ritsu's brows furrow. "You hit it. You didn't notice?"

He didn't see how stiff Masamune got, trying to hide his nervousness. "Oh." After a few seconds of inner debate, turns to his left. "I'm sorry."

"..? Takano-san?" Ritsu frowns, "It's on your right..." The older man didn't seem to hear that, silent as he turned off the heat and finished stirring their meal. "Takano-san?"

"... se... em..."

"Huh? What?" He got up from the stool to walk closer.

"I can't see them okay?" Masamune says a little more loudly, upset. He wore an expression Ritsu wasn't used to seeing; it was different from the irritated expression Masamune has on frequently at work. "I'm sorry."

"What? But why?" Ritsu goes up to him, holding out Masamune's sleeping heart in his hands, "I can see yours..." The older man's gaze seemed to soften a bit seeing Ritsu holding it.

"I don't know why I can't see them anymore. After that day in your apartment... they suddenly disappeared." With no more than that, Masamune gets their plates ready and quietly tells him to wash up.

...

 _'I wonder why he can't see them...'_ Ritsu plays with his food a little, before taking it into his mouth with his chopsticks. _'I can see his...'_

"Takano-san," he catches the older man's attention, "Do you remember what was happening before you couldn't see them anymore?"

"...They wouldn't go near me. They seemed like they were thinking about something, and then you..."

"Me?"

"You seemed a little spaced out. Remember? I had to shake you to get your attention."

"Shake me?" _'...Oh.'_ He remembered now, faintly. It was when he thought... when he thought that Masamune didn't care to look at his hearts. _'When I thought my love wasn't worth looking at...'_

 _'Is it my fault then?'_ Ritsu thought, worried. When he thought that, had his hearts made themselves invisible for his sake? _'But I know now that Takano-san thinks of them.'_ He gazes across from him to his own little heart; it was watching Masamune eat... for some reason. Masamune's little heart was still sleeping, but next to his cup of water. It must have been so tired from bouncing around like how it did...

"It's watching me, isn't it?" He takes his attention to Masamune, the latter feeling he was being stared at. "Where is it?"

"Right there," Ritsu points with his chopsticks to in front of Masamune's plate. The latter raises his brows at the proximity (it was closer than he thought), but made no move to do anything about it besides continue to eat.

After dinner, when Masamune went to go shower, Ritsu made his way into his apartment.

"Please let Takano-san see you guys!"

"..." The rest of his hearts tilted their bodies at him before shaking their bodies in an negative.

"No..? Why?" He turns his head to the little heart that had come back with him. Suddenly, that particular heart seemed pumped up, presenting itself to the rest with little hops. The rest of the hearts simply shook their bodies in opposition again. "You guys are my hearts, right? I don't want you guys to remain unseen. I want Takano-san to see you guys again, so don't you guys want him to see again?"

A shake of their bodies. Nope. _'Aren't they apart of me? Why 'No'?'_

The little one with him nods happily, determined. It jumps into his hands and he smiles at it. "Thank you!" He gazes around at the rest of the hearts. "I don't know why you guys don't want him to see you all, but I'll show you guys that... that..." he trails off. _'What will I show them actually?'_

Now he felt lost. _'I was the one who made them not want Takano-san to look at them, yet... I don't really understand it myself but...'_ "Um! I don't know exactly what I will show you, but I will show you!" With that, he marches out of the apartment with the little heart in his hand.

And then he came back.

"I-I should go shower..."

* * *

 **I'm glad in the manga they're starting to bond well ^u^ People who are impatient (and Masamune) need to understand that just a confession won't just do it (Though I do understand that it has been almost a year for him, and many YEARS for us).**

 **However, there are a lot more steps to a relationship... and these two dorks are going at different paces and are both stubborn in their ways. BUT they are trying.  
**

 **I've seen people blame Ritsu more than Masamune, and they need to understand that they are both to blame (though the hungry, over-thinking Tako has, in my eyes, a tiny bit more blame than Ritsu- sorry I am biased).**

 **And the way Masamune answers half the time is so questionable lol, but it is funny yet not the answer. Ritsu and Masamune are learning a lot from each other. The newest chapter was amusing lol  
**

 **Let's root for the both of them! \\(^o^)/  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Confessions

**Happy Late Valentines! And late White Day! Hehehe (' u') A happy late bday to me and a happy sort of late St. Patrick's Day~**

 **Also, To Sarah aka Sekaiichis: (^u^) I hope your heart suffers.** **Hehe, notice the title of this chapter?**

* * *

 _Hearing footsteps from outside his front door, Ritsu stood nervously, waiting. He held a small pastry box holding a slice of chocolate cake, wondering if it'll be to the other man's taste._

 _It was Takano-san's birthday after all._

 _'Maybe he won't...' Ritsu hesitated, tightening his grip on the box. 'He's going to think it's weird...'_ _For a while now, the brunet has become aware of his feelings towards his superior at work, and didn't know what to do about them. However, he felt the growing need of wanting to spend as much time as he could with the older man. Lately, even the smallest of praises brought him so much happiness._

 _"Thanks, Yokozawa."_

 _'Huh, what?' Ritsu thought as he heard Masamune. 'Yokozawa-san's here? Thanks for what?' He was aware that the two are friends._

 _"No problem, Masamune. It's been a while since we've had a good meal after all..." What was with this silent pause? "See you."_

 _"Yeah, thanks again. Bye." Ritsu heard footsteps now, and the door next door opening and closing._

 _'So... he already ate.' The brunet swallowed, having understood at least that. 'He wouldn't take this cake now...'_

 _..._

 _'Why?' He swallowed again. 'My chest really hurts.' Ritsu didn't know what do now with this cake. Perhaps give it to another neighbor? Eating it all by himself seemed silly, especially since it wasn't his birthday or anything. And he wasn't even in the mood to eat anything; he just wanted to crawl to bed and stay under the blankets._

 _Suddenly, it felt really lonely. *ring ring*_

 _"..?" He sauntered to his cell phone on the couch, and picked it up. "Hello?"_

 _[Hey Onodera!]_

 _"Hello, Haitani-san..."_

 _[You okay? Did your friend like the cake?]_

 _"Oh um... They ended up making plans with another friend..._

 _[Ah, I see... Well, maybe come hang out with us? Saeki-san is getting really drunk again!]_

 _"I... Can I bring the cake? I'm not really hungry..."_

 _[Sure! Things like that can spoil quick with no one to enjoy it! We've managed to sit at the same table as last time, do you want me to-]_

 _"No no, I can make it there. I'll come right now."_

 _[Okay then! See you!]_

 _"See you..." Ritsu then hanged up, cheering up a bit as he distracted himself of getting ready to go out. He needed to simmer this pain in his chest, to immerse himself with the company of friends and acquaintances, so he can feel at least the tiniest bit better._

...

He remembers that. And yet... The cake behind the window of this shop called out to him. It was small, and had the standard Valentine's Day message written in chocolate on the top. Very cutesy... and romantic...

Ritsu wanted to buy it so badly. _'Is it wrong to hope for Takano-san to eat this with me? Hng no, no-'_ With a shake of his head he continues on his way to work, trying to refuse the thought. _'He'll probably think it's weird... And maybe...'_

 _'Takano-san might have someone else to spend Valentine's Day with...'_

A small bump on the head reminded him he wasn't alone, and he brought up his hands to catch the small heart hopping off his head. Smiling softly, he tucks the little heart into one of his coat pockets and continues on his way to work.

* * *

Later in the day, Masamune realizes how much the chocolate has doubled from the past year. He really doesn't want to take any of it home... _'Annoying.'_

Maybe he should give some of his load to Ritsu; perhaps then the brunet will realize his feelings. _'But...'_ He looks down at his current manuscript. _'It won't be 'from the heart,' huh...'_

For a while now, he's been noticing this one particular heart of his becoming more restless by the day. He watches as it trembles violently from the top of some books, staring at something he couldn't see- which was Ritsu's heart sleeping on one of the plush rabbits in front of the brunet's work space. Personally, he himself has been feeling okay, but if his heart is acting like this, something was definitely wrong.

Suddenly, he recalls that Ritsu left early before him, but yet came to work after he did. _'Did he go meet someone?'_ He looks at Ritsu, wondering. Surely, if his heart was so restless today, maybe the younger man's heart was being swayed by another?

He definitely had to make sure Ritsu comes home with him at the end of the day.

...

Something was wrong with Takano-san's heart. Ritsu tilts his head at it, watching as it continues its trembling. It just kept staring at his own heart, who was blissfully napping the day away. _'Takano-san seems confused as well; so maybe just like my hearts, his hearts seem to have a mind of their own as well.'_

He decided a few minutes ago that he was going to go buy the cake after work. _'I'll probably read at his place since I'm eating dinner there... so surely asking if we can share a cake together afterwards is okay? That sounds innocent enough...'_ He still very much wanted to eat cake with Takano-san. _'Maybe someday, if I'm able to cook as well as Takano-san, I can learn to bake too...'_

"Onodera."

"Hmm..?" Ritsu turns in his seat upon hearing his name being called, before jolting in surprise at Takafumi. "Y-yes, Yokozawa-san?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your proposal. Come with me." His voice was rather unusually quiet... Ritsu glances to see that Masamune was busy on the phone, scowling. Unsure, he hesitantly follows after Takafumi, unaware of his little heart waking up in a stupor and hopping on his head to go along for the ride.

To the brunet's surprise, the other man stopped when they rounded a corner. "Yokozawa-san..?"

"You saw it too right?"

"..? Huh?" He stills as Takafumi prods him into looking around the corner at Masamune. "T-Takano-san?"

"No, not him. That." Ritsu widens his eyes at the heart staring blatantly back at them from Masamune's desk. "You can see it too right?"

"You can see it, Yokozawa-san?!"

"SHH shh," Takafumi shushes, unintentionally casting small glares at passing co-workers. "For a while now, I- hah!" He points at the top of Ritsu's head, having now noticed the sleepy little heart. "You too!"

"Y-you can see mine too?" Ritsu brought down his heart from his hands, cupping the little heart in them. "I..." Ritsu trails off, brows furrowing in confusion before looking up at Takafumi in wonder. "You _like_ me, Yokozawa-san?"

"What? No," Takafumi answers, frowning at the innocent, questioning expression on Ritsu's face. "Don't look at me like that."

"Takano-san used to see mine, but now he can't. I can still see his though."

"Is that so... Ack!" Ritsu looks the other man's direction to the floor, blinking in surprise at Masamune's little heart having followed them. "What does it want?"

"I don't know- ah," Ritsu stops, stiffening when Masamune turns the corner, "Takano-san..."

"What are you two doing?" The older man crosses his arms, glaring. "I thought it was strange that it would go off on its own," referring to his own little heart.

"Yokozawa-san can see them!" Ritsu begins to explain. "He says for a while now."

"...So what?" Masamune scowls, suspicious. "You like him, Onodera?"

"H-h-hah?! No, I don't!" Ritsu flushes, glancing back and forth between the two men. "You l-like him!"

"Hah?! I told you I don't, didn't I?" Masamune turns his glare to Takafumi. "You? Unless oh, don't tell me, you like both of us?"

"What?! No!" Takafumi hisses, before realizing people were staring. "And lower your voice will you? I don't exactly have time for this."

"Then go then. What are you doing over here anyways?"

"...Nothing," Takafumi spits out after a few seconds, wanting to get this over with. It was easy to see that his friend was not in the mood and seemed willing to let people watch... whatever moment they were having. "Never mind what I said Onodera; your proposal was fine," he says to the younger man, before leaving. At the very least, Takafumi hoped he would find out later himself as to why he could see these little hearts that weren't his.

* * *

Work ended later than usual, much to Ritsu's worry; what if someone bought the cake he wanted to buy? Hurriedly, he left after giving his goodbyes, oblivious to his superior's calculative gaze at him. If someone else did buy the cake, the brunet hoped that perhaps there would be another nice-looking cake available that was to his taste...

It had taken him about 20 minutes, but... Panting, Ritsu looks into the window before sagging his shoulders a little in disappointment. _'Someone did buy it...'_ Not ready to quite give up yet, he goes into the store.

...

It was good enough right? Ritsu looks down at his little box in contemplation. Only a slice of one of the cakes behind the display glass under the counter appealed to him. Well, it wasn't like he could finish a whole cake anyway with Masamune without the older man finding out about his true intention. _'But... would he think it's pathetic that I can't finish one slice on my own?'_ Lost in his thoughts, he yelps when a hand grabs his shoulder firmly.

"So, you left work in such a hurry for a cake... huh..."

"T-takano-san! Please don't do that!"

"Do what? You shouldn't be spacing out in the middle of a sidewalk. Come on," The older man pulls Ritsu along. The brunet sees a bag of groceries in Masamune's other hand. "Tonight, we're going to make yakisoba."

"Okay..." Ritsu says, brows furrowed. The older man wasn't going to ask why he bought a cake slice?

When they arrived at the older man's apartment to start cooking, it was oddly quiet. Ritsu couldn't help but glance over at Masamune once in a while, wondering why he wasn't talking as much as usual. There was something obviously wrong, and it made the atmosphere uncomfortable. "Onodera."

"Yes?!" Ritsu answers in surprise, feeling caught that he was staring. "What is it?"

"Will you actually start cutting the garlic? How spaced out can you get today?"

"H-hah?!" Ritsu flusters, before understanding that he had just been simply standing and holding a knife in the air over some garlic cloves on a cutting board like an idiot. "Sorry! I'll get right to it!"

"If it's too hard-"

"IT ISN'T." He began cutting, determined as he cut the small cloves into tiny bits. Again he was oblivious, this time to the older man's disheartening sigh and downcast gaze.

"Are you really fine with this?"

"..?" Ritsu turns his head to him, confused.

"If you really don't want to be here, you can leave if you want."

 _'Huh?'_ Something was definitely wrong; Ritsu's brows furrow as he looks over at the older man, confused. "I-I don't..."

"..." Ritsu swallows as Masamune turns back to the onions and carrots he was cutting, seeming irritated at something. "...Nevermind."

"I..." Ritsu begins timidly, looking down at the garlic, "I-I like... being here."

"..."

"If... If you don't want me here, I-"

"When did I say I didn't want you here?" Masamune interrupts, looking back at him eye-to-eye. "If I didn't want you here, why would I keep making you come home with me? I like you here too."

"U-uh..." Ritsu blushes, not knowing what to say to that. "T-that's good," he smiles in relief. "I'm so glad... that you said that. I'm happy."

"Arrrhgh!" The younger man was surprised as Masamune turns away with what is cut, in annoyance, taking them closer to the stove. Then he takes out a wok. "Let's start cooking. I swear, you can be such an airhead."

"Hh-hah?! What do you mean by that?" Ritsu follows after him, before becoming focused on watching the older man cook and listening to his pointers.

* * *

Masamune wanted to kiss him so badly. It felt so good to hear that he liked being here, but then a little disappointed because Ritsu still didn't get the clue. Here they were, spending Valentine's Day cooking and eating together in his apartment like a couple, but they weren't even a couple.

...Yet.

 _'You know what? I should just tell him,'_ Masamune thought to himself. _'I can't take this anymore. If he still doesn't understand, I'll just start getting more touchy than usual until he does.'_ He watches as Ritsu washes the dishes, lost in his own world- his own innocent, oblivious, happy little world.

"Um, Takano-san," Ritsu wipes his hands of excess water, before heading over to him. "C-can we eat the cake I brought? It's just one slice, so..."

"You still want to eat after all that?" The older man frowns, remembering the small cake box the brunet brought with him. _'So he wasn't going to give it to somebody...'_

"We-well, since it's one slice, it should be fine since we're a little full... so can we?"

"...Yeah sure, okay." Masamune replies, seeing that the brunet wanted this for some reason. It piqued his interest seeing Ritsu smile a little as he went to get forks.

...

"Is it good..?"

"Yeah." Masamune replies, bringing down his fork for another piece; the cake was actually really good. "Nice and moist." They sat on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, enjoying their dessert.

"Mm! It is..." Ritsu happily takes another bite. Already, the cake was half gone. After a few more bites, Ritsu glances over at Masamune, content at what was happening. However, with all the contentment, came a deep aching to his chest that wouldn't go away. "Happy... Valentine's Day, Takano-san." He honestly was happy that he got to do this with the other man.

"Thanks. Happy Valentine's Day to you too." Masamune mutters as he finishes his part, before setting aside his fork to check his phone. _'No rain tomorrow huh-'_

WHAT. _'Wait. Wait.'_ Masamune widens his eyes, turning to look at Ritsu in disbelief. "What did you say, Onodera?"

"Hm..?" Ritsu blinks in confusion. "Happy Valentine's Day... Takano-san?"

 _'Valentine's...'_ The dark haired man trails off in thought, looking down at the now-empty plate that held the chocolate cake slice. _'Did he just...'_ At a loss, he looks back to Ritsu again, who visibly startles at Masamune's gaze. Nervously, the brunet stares back at him. Not able to keep the stance however, Ritsu opted to glance down or to the side once in a while, lightly flushed in embarrassment.

"Onodera... Did you want me to eat this with you for a reason?"

"..." Ritsu kept his lips pressed together tightly, too afraid to answer as he looks down to his lap in particular- probably his little heart. _'Why can't he tell me? It's not that hard.'_ Masamune thought in frustration. _'He wants to be with me too, doesn't he? What's going through his head?'_ He really didn't understand the younger man. They could be happy together right now, why couldn't the brunet see that? He froze in thought.

 _[I'm happy.]_

"..." _'Happy huh...'_ Masamune thought, annoyance simmering. _'Happy...'_

His love interest... is a fairly simple person. A person who already is happy if they're close to the person they love. Masamune recalls the many boys in shoujo manga whose love for the heroine was unrequited because the cool 'hero' of the story won them over. Those boys were sad, but ultimately happy as long as the heroine was happy. They ended up content staying as a close confident. Sometimes, they got side stories or spin-offs- okay, he was getting off track because he was reminded of that but...

While Onodera was relatively simple, inside that head of his must be simplistically complicated, which was redundant in itself but it made sense to Masamune. The brunet was probably worried about nothing. However, that... while he himself thought of it as nothing, Ritsu must be thinking deeply. Not to mention the insecurity and low self-confidence. Technically, he was almost everything Ritsu wasn't.

Ritsu said he was happy. He seems content with just spending time with him like this, but at times like these... There was something up. At first he thought that maybe the brunet was lowkey giving him Valentine's chocolate in the form of a cake, but there seems to be another reason.

"I-I..." Masamune's attention was caught as Ritsu began speaking. Judging from the younger man's shaky voice and extremely flushed face, it was taking a lot of strength to talk. "I've been wanting to... eat cake with you for a while now..." Ritsu pauses for a moment. "You had already eaten though- by the time I gathered enough courage to ask, so I couldn't give it to you. I ended up going out and meeting up with Saeki-san and Haitani-san and... they ate it for me..."

"What..?" He didn't understand this. _'It? He means cake? Haitani?'_ "When was this, Onodera?"

"Your... birthday," Ritsu answers quietly, before straightening up a little. "U-um, so... Happy Birthday, Takano-san... though it's very late to say that..."

Birthday?

 _'Birthday?'_ Masamune thought, shaken inside. _'He's been thinking about this since then?'_ He didn't even know that Ritsu knew his birthday. The brunet probably caught wind of it somehow from Takafumi bugging him about it.

"I'm sorry," Ritsu stammers, ashamed, "It's creepy isn't it? I won't-"

"NO! No no, Onodera," Masamune interjects rather loudly, startling the younger man. "It's not creepy at all."

...

Masamune didn't know what to do now. Even after he said that, the brunet didn't seem to believe him for whatever reason, and he himself was on-edge. Confessing wasn't as easy as he initially thought- Ritsu was surely going to reject him in this state and he was fearful of that. He wouldn't be surprised if Ritsu stopped coming home with him, let alone speak to him outside of work now... All because Ritsu thinks of himself as creepy towards his co-worker.

Wait, maybe...

If Ritsu was still feeling adamant about being creepy, perhaps he himself should admit his own actions... Though they were more perverted than creepy...

"I..." Ritsu hesitantly turns his gaze towards him. "For a while now, I've been making some grabs at your ass to see if you'd notice."

"..."

"..."

"...Huh?" Ritsu says in confusion; he certainly wasn't expecting this. And apparently, he didn't even realize until now that there were grabs at his fine behind. _'Looks like I'll definitely have to grab his ass harder...'_

"That day my hearts stripped you and tried to get in your pants, I honestly didn't want to stop them. It was sexy."

"H-hh-hhah..?! Se-se-s-"

"I'm not really into fellatio, but I've dreamt of taking you from under your desk and in the shower so much that I want to do it." And other places, but he was going to omit that.

"F-f-fella what?" Ritsu stutters, not knowing what that is, but the 'taking' part he understood, creating a flush to his ears. This was good; Masamune can already feel the heavy atmosphere shifting, and Ritsu didn't seem appalled at what he was hearing- just immensely confused at this turn of events.

"I'm always watching you." Ritsu's eyes widen, and while his reddening blush was gone now, there was an adorable expression of awe taking place. "You don't know it but I do it almost any chance I get. I've watched you for half an hour once trying to fight sleep before hitting you on the head to keep you awake. I really care about you."

"..." Ritsu looked very touched now. "I care about you too, Ta-takano-san."

"No, Onodera." Masamune states seriously, and Ritsu stills as the older man grabs him by the shoulders, looking him in the eye. "I'm _in love_ with you. I like you, Onodera. ...Do you understand now?"

* * *

 _'Oh.'_ Masamune thought, watching the most vivid expression come across Ritsu's face. It was somehow incredibly heart wrenching, and yet made his chest feel lighter than it ever was. Ritsu really is an open book, all open for him to see.

That was when Masamune decided then, that he didn't need words to understand what Ritsu's reply was. Although it would be nice to hear them come out of the brunet's mouth, this intense, yearning expression was more than enough. "...Ritsu."

"..!" _'"He said my name!" He's probably thinking,'_ Masamune smiles softly, reaching out and embracing the younger to his chest. Gently, he strokes the brunet's smooth hair, growing comfortable in their position as Ritsu began to relax in his embrace. _'Finally...'_

* **THUD* *THUD** *

Ritsu straightens up in their intimate position, and he looks at the wall connecting their apartments, while Masamune looks towards where his bedroom is. _'Shit,'_ Masamune thought, _'I forgot about them.'_ He's been keeping the rest of his hearts locked up in his room so they wouldn't jump Ritsu. They probably multiplied in there with all that was happening.

"Ah!" He follows Ritsu's gaze to the younger man's lap to see his heart nuzzling Ritsu's, though, Ritsu's little heart seems a little freaked out by the sudden development as it appears to be stiff- His eyes widen realizing he can see it again. He looks back up to Ritsu, his heart racing.

"Ono- Ritsu, you understand right?" The brunet gives him a questioning look. "I'm in love with you."

"Y-yes..." Came the sheepish answer, accompanied by the brunet's blushing. "I l-like you t-too..." Masamune smiles at that, before surprising the brunet with a kiss to the forehead. "T-takano-san..?"

Now, it'll probably be a long while before he can get the younger man to call him by his given name, but this time, he can wait a little more as they build their relationship from here.

* * *

 **The end.**

 **Just kidding.**

 **XD There's still some way to go! Thank you for reading. It felt weird trying to keep this in-character as if they never met in high school. Ritsu isn't that jaded, but cause of the coattails thing and such, he still doesn't have much confidence in himself and is as insecure. And Masamune is well, Masamune, but he has more trouble with relationships as he's never been in love love until Ritsu- and still ever the over-thinker lol.**


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